1. Field of the Invention
The invention comprises a method and apparatus for efficiently, cheaply and reliably detecting tailgating between two vehicles traveling in the same direction on a roadway.
2. Description of Related Art
A major cause of traffic accidents between motor vehicles on the roadways is the incidence of one vehicle following too closely behind a second vehicle. Tailgating, as it is known, is a dangerous practice often used as an intimidation technique to force other drivers to drive faster or pull off of a roadway, lest they risk damage to themselves or their vehicles.
Efforts to deter tailgating include the doubling of traffic fines in targeted areas and the painting of markers on highways to inform people how closely they should be following other traffic. Despite these efforts, however, tailgating remains a major safety concern for drivers.
Tailgating is difficult to detect by law enforcement officers. The primary means of detecting tailgating for a law enforcement officer is simply to view traffic in motion. This is often inadequate to detect tailgating, in that drivers usually cease following too closely when they see a law enforcement officer in the distance.
Enforcement of anti-tailgating laws is a challenge for law officers because the act of tailgating is difficult to prove. While the officer may observe tailgating on a road, if the offender challenges the summons, the officer frequently has no evidence to prove the tailgating other than his own testimony. This tends to make law officers more hesitant to issue summonses for tailgating.
Prior art systems for deterrence of tailgating are inadequate to meet the needs described above. U.S. Pat. No. 7,057,501 to Davis and U.S. Pat. No. 6,737,963 to Gutta et al. disclose systems for warning a driver if tailgating is occurring, but contains no system for alerting authorities or any down stream remote location when tailgating has occurred. U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,474 to Treyz et al. discloses a system for detecting tailgating that is attached to an individual's automobile, which does not provide authorities with an easy way to target tailgating in a specific location. U.S. Pat. No. 6,760,061 to Glier et al. discloses a system for detecting vehicles using cameras mounted on the side of a roadway, but utilizes a complicated algorithm for determining the presence of a vehicle in a captured video frame. U.S. Pat. No. 6,300,883 to Tyburski discloses a system for recording traffic but no system for detecting tailgating vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,228 to Lees discloses a system for detecting tailgating using multiple sensors embedded in a roadway but does not determine if the tailgating is a violation. It is also not portable and thus not easy-to-use or set up. The following U.S. patents may also be relevant, but are probably of less significance: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,434,554 and 6,867,709.
In view of the forgoing, a system is needed for detecting tailgating, informing authorities when tailgating has occurred, and providing evidence of the tailgating to the authorities. In particular, a device is needed which is easily portable and may be set up alongside any roadway in order to isolate and monitor one lane of a highway. Such a device would allow for easy random deployment thereby engendering unpredictability, in order to provide the element of surprise which is crucial to law enforcement.